The soul engaged

by chuckofish

“If the heart be chiefly and directly fixed on God, and the soul engaged to glorify him, some degree of religious affection will be the effect and attendant of it. But to seek after affection directly and chiefly; to have the heart principally set upon that; is to place it in the room of God and his glory. If it be sought, that others may take notice of it, and admire us for our spirituality and forwardness in religion, it is then damnable pride; if for the sake of feeling the pleasure of being affected, it is then idolatry and self-gratification.”

–Jonathan Edwards, The Life and Diary of David Brainerd

If you have 45 minutes and are in the mood for some solid conversation about the Puritans, listen to this podcast of Daniel Doriani and Abram Van Engen, who is a Professor of English at my former flyover university and an old acquaintance of mine.

(The painting is The Oxbow by Thomas Cole. The Connecticut River’s Oxbow is within Northampton’s city limits, a city where Jonathan Edwards lived and preached for many years.)